Power defeats Anthony Ricketts in Four Games [DRAW/RESULTS]

Jonathon Power keeps Anthony Ricketts at bay. Photo © 2005 Fritz Borchert

Jonathon Power, the 31-year old Canadian squash star, completed a remarkable journey back to world number one, a position he will assume exactly 4 1/2 years after he last held the world #1 ranking in July of 2001 by winning the Saudi International, in its first year. Power, in winning the Saudi International, collects his third major Middle-Eastern title. The Middle East has been the site of some of his most important wins. He won the Qatar International title in 1997 in a stirring five game win over Peter Nicol and followed that up with the World Open Title, in Qatar in 1998, a four game win over Nicol. Now, he has added to that an equally significant and important win, one that will vault him from #6, in December, to #1 in January.

Jonathon Power - Winner in Saudi and Jan 1 World #1. Photo © 2005 Fritz Borchert

Power, who over his career has battled a wide array of injuries, has seen his career called "finished" by a range of squash pundits over the past four year. But since early last Spring, the Canadian king of deception, has been almost unbeatable, when not felled by injury, cramps or other maladies.

Today, in the Saudi Arabian coast town of Al-Khobar, at the first ever PSA squash event held in the Kingdom, Jonathon Power showed none of those maladies. He capped a remarkable tournament, when all the pressure was on, beating an in-form Anthony Ricketts, the current British Open champion. By dint of the fact that this event had more than DOUBLE the prize money offered in the British Open, Power's win here was much more valuable. In fact, ever since the quarterfinal round, when David Palmer went down, the pressure was on all of the semi finalist, three of whom could have ascended to world number one with a tournament win.

But Jonathon Power, who rarely seems susceptible to pressure, was the one to rise to the occasion, first defeating Nick Matthew, against whom he had fallen in five games in the US Open last month (cramps were the culprit in that match) and then beating Anthony Ricketts, who he had earlier lost to in the St Louis Open earlier this fall, and who he had also lost to in the Pakistan Open a year ago. But most recently, Power had defeated Ricketts 3-1 in the World Team Championships, and Power's lifetime record against Ricketts now improves to a formidable 9 wins and 2 losses.

Anthony Ricketts - loses to Power in the finals. Photo © 2005 Fritz Borchert

It is difficult to imagine a more dramatic climax to the end of the Professional Squash Association's record year of 2005 than the one provided by the Saudi International, new PSA Super Series Platinum event staged in the Saudi Arabian city of Al-Khobar.

Once the quarter-finals of the second richest PSA Tour event of the year had been resolved, it became clear that three of the four semi-finalists would take over the world No1 ranking on 1st January 2006 should they win the $127,500 title - with a fourth player, Egypt's world champion Amr Shabana, earning the title should England's surprise semi-finalist Nick Matthew, the 11th seed, succeed!

Both Matthew and Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the world number one throughout 2005, bowed out at the last four stage – leaving second seed Power and third seed Ricketts, 26, from Sydney, to fight for the double reward.

After the 31-year-old from Montreal took the opening two games, Ricketts fought back to take the third for the loss of just four points.  But Power turned on his greater experience and, after 65 tense minutes, threw his racket in the air to celebrate his historic 11-4 11-9 4-11 11-5 triumph.

Congratulations to Jonathon Power for his Al-Khobar performance. Photo © 2005 Fritz Borchert

"This was my goal this year, to give it a big push and go back to the top," Power said.  "I always knew I had it in me, I just had to stop finding excuses and actually do it"

Power told SquashTalk, "I felt good and was able to conserve energy in the early rounds. I have been telling everyone I am committed to squash in the long term, and getting back to the top is part of that."

The Saudi triumph marks Power's fifth PSA title success of the year in his fifth final – and the 37th trophy of his career since July 1992, when he won the Chicago Open.

Power now reaches world #1 for the third time. He was world number one from May 1999 through January 2000, and then April 2001 through July 2001. In reaching #1, he end's Thierry Lincou's 12 month stretch at world #1.

RESULTS:        Saudi International Squash Championship, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Finals:
[2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [3] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 11-4 11-9 4-11 11-5 (65m)